Everyone knows that Christmas time is the season of giving, but this spring weather didn’t stop the Starmount students from giving their hearts and donations for the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes foundation is set up to fund research and methods to help the lives of premature babies. Babies who are born too soon before their due dates often come with many health issues and require more extensive care than other children. This can be both physically and financially draining to the parents. However, with the help of the March of Dimes, that weight can be lifted as the parents can be focused on doing the most important thing parents can do: love their child.

At Starmount High School, the students were ready and willing to give their own money to help this cause. Because of their generous hearts, the faculty and staff set up a few goals to reward them along the way. Mrs. Joines was the head of the faculty committee in organizing such a worthy cause.

However, these special prizes weren’t the only reason students were donating. “I would’ve given if we had rewards or not,” Laura Dimmette, Starmount senior, declared. Even so, the incentives certainly gave an extra push for those special teenagers.

In the end, the school raised more than $1000, and the students were granted two of the incentives they had earned. On Friday, May 5th, the entire school was released ten minutes early. Despite the extra time of freedom, this opportunity seemed to pale in comparison to their favorite prize.

The assistant principal Petree had made a promise that if the school raised $750, then he would kiss a pig in front of the student body. They held him to this promise and so, on Friday, he swapped some smooches with a special guest at the high school. The little pig had even dressed for the occasion with a bright blue bow as well as orange and blue painted hooves.

The school was ecstatic, and everyone was eager to see the event. Even Petree himself wasn’t downhearted. When asked how he felt about the event, he replied with “Someone once told me that if there’s something I have to do, don’t consider it as an obligation but as an opportunity. So this is an opportunity for me today.”

Christy Rucker is a senior and student member of the Starmount Journalism Club and YCS Virtual Academy of Journalism.